Ranabir Sen’s Finding Graham is a moving tale that transcends love from the world’s far ends. It testifies that blood is thicker than water after all. Reading this book intrigued me from the beginning, so much so that I finished it in one night!
The Plot
Finding Graham is one of those books which exudes warmth from the very first page. It thus hooks the reader to it right there. The book opens with a description of the vast Dutta family. But it is only known later that the Dutta family has its branches scattered over the country and beyond international borders.
So when the Dutta family’s Joyee gets intrigued by her family’s mystery, she decides to unravel the same. Being the flagbearer of the Dutta family, Joyee embarks on this mission to discover someone, who existed only as a folklore in their lives till then.
Ramesh Dutta, the brother of Joyee’s great-grandfather had traveled overseas to London in the 1930s. Unfortunately, although his trunk returned to where he once belonged, he didn’t. Will the Dutta family be able to excavate this mystery and be able to trace it back to their long-lost kith and kin? That is exactly what Finding Graham is about. This heartwarming tale of the Dutta family is going to melt your heart, even if you are not a massive fan of fictitious narratives.
Language and Stylistics
Ranabir Sen has adopted a very distinct writing style in his Finding Graham. He uses a straightforward and candid narrative in most parts of the book. But he picks an epistolary form (which tells the story through letters) for the rest of the book. The language has just the right amount of eloquence and is not excessively flowery. There is also a coherent use of dialogue in most parts of the narrative. Overall, the narrative style is condensed and crisp, making the book more readable for diverse readers.
The Quirks and the Climax
Sen has written the book in a way that will be engrossing to any reader even after the climax of the narrative. It shows how the love of a family transcends boundaries. It also reveals how integral the sense of belonging is to any human being. And, that is exactly why tracing down your roots becomes a task that you cannot let go of, no matter how hard it is. The author, Ranabir Sen, himself has been to several parts of the world. Perhaps it is his experience of the unfamiliar that helped him articulate such a heartwarming tale about one’s sense of belonging.
The Final Verdict: Who Should Read It?
Having read the book, I feel that if you are moved by how far the love of a family can reach, Finding Graham is for you. The narrative shows its reverence for the importance of one’s homeland. However, it also gives the reader a glimpse of how tragic war can be. It presents a picture of a present-day scenario as well as that of 1930s London. This further shows how the war severed many families and lovers.
Thus at the very core of it, the book is a tale of love and loss. It depicts how painful it can be to remain aloof from one’s family for years and how gratifying the reunion can be.
Finding Graham was indeed, never an easy task for the Duttas. You have to read this bittersweet tale of familial love, nostalgia, and belonging to know more about it!
Neha Raj is the co-founder of The Book Marketing Girl.